A Neurophenomenology of Awe and Wonder

Employing methods from neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology and simulation technology, the authors designed the first scientific study of the feelings of awe and wonder experienced by astronauts during space flight. This study provides a detailed analysis of the categories of awe and wonder experiences and their replication in two interdisciplinary experiments. It explores questions that pertain to the representations of these experiences in science, art, and culture, and the effect of these representations on our expectations concerning space. This study is offered as a model for integrating first-person phenomenology and third-person experimental science, with considerations about how culture can shape experience. By pursuing these 'large' interdisciplinary methods, the authors argue for an integrated, non-reductionist approach to cognitive science.